Look Up Gulf Correctional Institution Inmates

Gulf Correctional Institution Overview

Gulf Correctional Institution is operated by the Florida Department of Corrections and sits at 500 Ike Steele Road in Wewahitchka, in the northern part of Gulf County. It is an adult male state prison, which means it holds men who have already been sentenced and committed to state custody, not people awaiting trial. Warden Jeremy Proctor leads the institution, and its main phone line is staffed during posted hours. The prison also oversees a nearby annex as a satellite unit.

Because it is a state prison, the people here arrived through the courts and the corrections department's reception process, not through a Gulf County booking. The facility's own page notes that a former satellite, Gulf Forestry Camp, is temporarily closed, so the working footprint of the prison is the main institution and its annex. This is one reason the Gulf County inmate count is larger than the local jail alone.

The distinction between this prison and the county jail is more than a technicality. A family searching for a recently arrested relative will not find them here, because new arrests go to the Gulf County Detention Facility in Port St. Joe. A person only reaches Gulf Correctional Institution after a conviction and a state-prison sentence, which can be months after the original arrest. Keeping that timeline in mind saves a search that would otherwise look in the wrong system.

Gulf Correctional Institution Capacity and Population

The Florida Department of Corrections lists a capacity of 1,572 for Gulf Correctional Institution, accessed in 2026. Combined with the 720-bed annex next door, the state operates roughly 2,292 prison beds in Wewahitchka, which dwarfs the local jail in Port St. Joe. The corrections department does not publish a live daily count on the facility page, so only the rated capacity is shown here.

How to Look Up an Inmate at Gulf Correctional Institution

State prisoners are searched through the Florida Department of Corrections, not the county. The Florida DOC offender search lets the public look up a sentenced inmate by name or DC number and shows the current facility, which is updated nightly when a location changes. The corrections department says it includes photographs of incarcerated inmates in the interest of public safety.

1. Open the Florida DOC offender search and choose the inmate population search.
2. Enter the inmate's name or DC number.
3. Confirm the result lists Gulf Correctional Institution as the current facility.
4. Open the profile for the sentence, photo, and location details.

The official Florida DOC institution page for Gulf Correctional Institution carries the address, warden, capacity, and program list.

For questions the locator does not answer, the corrections department directs inmate population inquiries to its Bureau of Classification and Central Records at 850-488-9859. The county sheriff and the county app do not track state prisoners, so they are not the place to search for someone here.

The offender search also covers more than the current population. Separate searches return released inmates, supervised offenders, and escapes, each updated on its own schedule, so a name that no longer shows as incarcerated may still appear under a release record. If a person was recently sentenced and does not yet appear at Gulf Correctional Institution, they may still be moving through the reception process before the locator lists a permanent facility.

Gulf Correctional Institution Address and Contact

The institution publishes a single mailing address and main phone line, with posted office hours in Central time. Mail to an inmate must include the person's name and DC number along with the facility address.

The facility fax is 850-639-1182, and the chaplain's line is 850-639-1475 for emergency or religious matters handled through that office. Always include the inmate's full name and DC number on any letter, since mail without that identifier can be delayed or returned by the mailroom.

Visiting Someone at Gulf Correctional Institution

State prison visiting is far more structured than a county jail visit. The Florida Department of Corrections requires a visitor to be approved before any visit, then to reserve a slot through a weekly scheduling form. There are no walk-up visits without an approved application and a submitted scheduling request. The requirements below come from the corrections department's visiting information.

The corrections department's visiting page lays out the application and scheduling steps in full.

Full details and the current forms are on the Florida DOC visiting information page. Note: if the inmate is still in the reception process, you cannot apply to visit until they reach a permanent facility.

Mail, Phone, and Money at Gulf Correctional Institution

The Florida Department of Corrections runs statewide programs for inmate communication and funds, and they apply at Gulf Correctional Institution. Money, phone, canteen, and messaging all go through the state's vendors rather than anything the county controls. The table summarizes the channels the corrections department publishes.

Reception and Classification

People do not get booked into a state prison off the street. A person reaches Gulf Correctional Institution only after a court sentences them and commits them to the Florida Department of Corrections. The corrections department's reception and classification process reviews each inmate and decides on placement, security level, and programs before assigning a permanent facility. Someone may move from the Gulf County Detention Facility to state prison only after that sentencing and commitment.

That sequence is why the county jail and the state prison never show the same person at the same time. The handoff from the Gulf County Detention Facility to state custody marks the point where the search switches from the sheriff app to the Florida DOC locator.

Programs and Re-entry at Gulf Correctional Institution

The corrections department lists an unusually broad program slate at Gulf Correctional Institution, which sets it apart from its annex. The offerings reach across education, work training, faith services, and re-entry support, and they shape how inmates spend their sentence and prepare for release.

• Academic classes including adult basic education, GED, literacy, and the Compass 180 program.
• Vocational training in environmental services and HVAC.
• A wide chaplaincy program with religious education, transitional housing assistance, and Prison Fellowship.
• Institutional betterment such as anger management, AA and NA, a Gavel Club, and Inside-Out Dads.
• A re-entry dorm, a peer-to-peer motivational dorm, and a law library.

These programs run inside the institution, not the annex, which the corrections department lists as having no programs at this time. For families, custody alerts on a state prisoner can be set through Florida VINELink, which notifies a registered user when a supported inmate's status changes. The program list and the facility details all come from the corrections department's official institution page.

About Gulf Correctional Institution

Gulf Correctional Institution anchors a small cluster of state corrections units in northern Gulf County. Its facility page lists the annex as a satellite and notes that Gulf Forestry Camp, once part of the operation, is temporarily closed. The institution sits well off the main highways, and the corrections department directs drivers to take I-10 to Exit 142, follow State Road 71 south about 42 miles to Stone Mill Creek Road, then continue about three miles to the entrance.

The official corrections pages reviewed for this site describe the facility, its leadership, and its programs but do not detail litigation or conditions complaints. Outside organizations have at times published their own reports on Florida prisons, including Gulf Correctional Institution, but those are not government sources and are not relied on here for facts. For an authoritative account of the institution, the Florida Department of Corrections page is the primary source, and custody questions go to its Bureau of Classification and Central Records.